Blizz

Hope for a Dying World

Katrina's just gonna barge in like "whats with the child"

Hope for a Dying World

I stopped existing for a moment

I exist again now though. So I’ll see what I can write.

Also, just a thought but a discord server might help us communicate back and forth. What do you think? @Illogical Jim

Inferno - STRIKE THE MATCH! - Concluded

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Jack Hawthorne

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Location: Limbo
Skills: Extra-planar Navigation
Spells: Twilight Doorway
Outfit

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How many years had it been? Jack could… Scarcely recall. He had once been a close companion of the X-Men in another time and place. Charles Xavier and him spent many hours of the day discussing secrets of their unique worlds- Of deep magic and powerful mutation. Once, the two even took a trip into Jack’s mind to confront something that Ororo likely recalled. Of course, Jack himself was a wizard, and not a mutant, but he still considered Ororo, Charles and the other X-Men friends.

”Red- Ah, yes. The cloak… Where do I even begin with this? I was simply minding my business at the Twilight Pass, when this cloak found itself to me. And the Eye of Agamoto as well. Stephen Strange has left this mortal coil at long last, and it would seem that I and two others have been chosen as his successor to the mantle of earth’s Sorcerer Supreme. Just as the Eye rested over my neck, a portal whisked me away to the world of Limbo. I met two others- Madalyn and Annika. They were also given a cloak and eye. Why he chose three and not one, I do not know. Just moments ago, we met a friend of mine- The late Belasco’s daughter. Apparently, Magik killed him.”

”I opened a portal to take a shortcut to a place that Ananym- His daughter- Was leading us to… And the exit overlapped a stepping disc. That is how I find myself here now,” Jack continued. ”I… Did not expect to be here. This is a pleasant surprise, but a surprise no less. What year is it here? How long has it been since we last spoke?”

Whatever her answer, it was surely longer than Jack had realized. Long ago, he could’ve stayed in one place with her and the rest of the X-Men. He and Charles made progress in unseating a great monstrosity from his inner mind. But for his own shortsighted reason, the shadow-walker left in the dead of night one evening, leaving only a brief note behind that thanked them all for their kindness.

Such was his way, to always keep moving forward.

Avengers Academy 💥

Leah Jordan

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Location: Framework
Skills: Battlefield Manipulation
Today’s Fit

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What in the god damn fuck was that fucking guy? And why did he have a fucking volcano in his left tit?! Leah didn’t know that Diana was the one at the wheel right now, so the conclusion she came to was that Usagi must’ve been into some weird shit. Then again, it didn’t take Mr. Krakatita to extrapolate such information. He was swinging around a giant fuck-off flaming axe- That much she did understand and watched it sail right over her head. This was a time to open up herself, and so she reached deep into the ground to rip it apart. Alas, Leah overestimated her control in this current situation, so she didn’t get the boulder to loose itself from the dirt, only raising the ground by about half a foot. In the time it took her to focus on this, Mount Mammary got in a good swing.

Leah blacked out and woke up back on one of the pedestals. She looked herself over and, holy shit. She was normal again. Whatever the hell Zarina did to her was undone… The pain stopped. She was shorter, and felt none of that burning power inside her chest anymore. Leah stayed there for a moment, staring at her hands as if she had gone crazy and just missed the gray skin she had moments ago. What happened to her? She was trained to deal with curveballs for years, this shouldn’t be affected her this badly. Why? Why?

She took in a deep breath.

The wind does not move the mountain, She thought to herself. It comes, and it goes. It was a way to remind herself to be a rock, and that she had to be better than this. It was a simulation. A test. A game which one or two of them had godlike control over. So, detached from the battlefield, Leah put her strategist skills to proper use. Leah saw Ed and Zarina both gunning for a weapon. If those two both worked together then they could theoretically snap Magma Milkers out of existence. But she doubted they would coordinate like that. Even if they did, Usagi was holding the reins to end all reins, and so this would go on until they amused her or all wiped. This must’ve been an “impossible odds” situation. One to determine how they handled themselves in a situation where they couldn’t win to begin with.

For all intents and purposes, they were playing a game- and Usagi was the opponent. How do you win a game without a viable win condition? You don’t. If they can’t win, then Usagi couldn’t lose. But if Leah’s team didn’t actually lose either… No, the simulation would just escalate past their abilities.

Unless they did well enough now.

Leah re-entered the battlefield, walking up to Victoria’s side and staying there. ”He’s huge, and has a lot of reach. If we stay out of it and keep him in his then he can’t hit us with that axe. I can’t make quicksand without April. But…”

Leah bent down and slammed both of her hands into the dirt. She poured her power into it to turn the ground under the Voluptuous Volcano’s feet into a huge pit of fine sand. Ideally, his mass would cause him to sink like a rock when he shuffled around, causing him to get stuck.

”Do you think Zarina could glitch in a few phaser rifles on vaporize to fuck him up?”

Roll Request

Requesting a roll for Leah to fragment the ground under Ganon’s feet, turning it into sand deep enough for him to trip up and sink into.

Calling Leah’s battlefield manipulation skill for the roll.

Hope for a Dying World

Katrina Lark

Katrina

Name
Katrina Lark

Age
37

Strength

• Blood Magic: Due to circumstances long behind her, Katrina is adept in the most unholy forms of magic. The kind that some of the most insidious demons are known for using to bring terror down on humanity; Blood magic is centered on the idea of using a mortal being's life force to shape the world through a lens of violence. Every time Katrina casts a spell with it, there is a toll to pay. The toll ranges from mundane pain such as burnt flesh, to spilling blood and using it to fuel a spell. All blood magic is inherently selfish, and takes from others without return.
  
  Blood is used to draw sigils with malicious intent behind them, such as draining someone of their life force when they come near a sigil, or sparking demonic fire that can destroy anything it touches. The sacrifice offered determines the potency of the effect. Katrina has gotten creative with this over the years, and has found a few tricks to use that do not risk her life. One such method involved drawing blood sigils over her skin, and allowing them to sear themselves into her skin like permanent, branded scars. Every time Katrina uses one of these, it's like sticking hot iron against her arms, and the pain makes her sigils particularly potent. Katrina can theoretically create any sigil she wishes, for any conceivable effect, but the sacrifice necessary will grow to match the intention. More blood must be spilled, more pain must be suffered, an animal must be killed, and so on- She could not bring a plague down on the all the Seven Villages without bleeding herself dry, along with a dozen other people.
  
  The sigils on Katrina's arms can be cast at a moment's notice, but due to them being burned into her skin, they have very limited range compared to any other sigil she were to draw.
  
  
  Katrina's Scar Sigils

  
  Devilflame: Katrina sparks a flame that burns with a sinister red hue. The fire will incinerate anything it touches- Trees, houses, flesh, even steel- Until only ashes remain. The only protection is that of a holy origin, such as holy water or a blessing from a priest. For this reason, the Devilflame can't set fire to a church or burn a book of holy text, or a graveyard that was consecrated by a monk.
  
  Poison Touch: By holding a piece of a living creature, such as a vial of a person's blood, Katrina can curse them to feel incredibly sick. They will feel weak with fatigue, struggle to eat or sleep at night. A visit to the Holy Order would curse them right away, though they will never truly die. The victim only suffers longer and longer until someone with the right skills can intervene.
  
  Devour: When the sigil is activated, a chosen target is slowly drained of their life force, steadily healing Katrina when she touches them. This is the only way to magically heal any of her wounds, but as with all blood magic, a victim will suffer the same injuries Katrina heals. To another person, it's as if Katrina were simply transferring her wounds to a victim.
  
  Hysteria: The Hysteria sigil creates a nightmarish vision based on the internal fears of a person she touches. Katrina has no control over what the vision actually is, because the vision depends on what the victim fears more than anything in the world. Their vision is the worst possible outcome of this fear, known or not, taken to a harrowing extreme that only they can perceive.
  
  
• Survival: From hunting to get through another hungry evening, to using nature as a compass, Katrina is used to living in places where most wouldn't. Even as the world clings to the last vestiges of civilization, there are wastelands of ash and hellspawn that go untouched for long spans. Katrina has travelled through these places, and used the terrain to hide from roaming demons enough that she doesn't need a roof over her head to avoid getting killed. She can always find out which direction is which, and where water might be running. Normally, the ground is too corrupted that she finds anything to eat, but her travels help her find shelter from rain and seclusion in unsafe areas.
• Demonology: It's unsurprising that someone who uses the magic of demons would know a thing or two about them. Though, since Katrina keeps her magical abilities a secret, one has to wonder where she learned so much about demons. Katrina can easily translate things written in demonic tongues to High Speech, identify different types of demons and the perfect spot to stab them in with a knife, and tell anyone others with experienced certainty that the best way to survive an encounter with a demon is to simply not encounter them. There are some deep, esoteric details about the world of demons that a person simply cannot learn from a book. While priests and clerics learn about so much more, Katrina simply dives deeper into a single subject.
• Knife Enjoyer: Katrina is an absolute menace with a dagger. She could throw one and shave the whiskers from a cat with her eyes closed. Katrina feels the most comfortable when she has some sort of sharp object on her person, and often makes very good use of one she always has with her no matter where she goes.

Weaknesses

• Unholy Soul: Katrina's magic is a very destructive thing, meaning she would be murder in a battle situation. On paper, this sounds like a good thing, but Katrina's ability to wield blood magic is merely a product of her making the best of a bad situation. For all intents and purposes, Katrina is semi-demonic in her own right. Those of a holy background with firm faith are next to immune to any magic she throws at them. Katrina doesn't believe in the Starry Field, but even if she were the most devout woman in the known world, she simply could not set foot there because of the stain on her soul. Sacred objects like the Cup of Woe would burn her skin if she touched them, holy water is the same as poison to Katrina, and divine magic that would benefit another has the exact opposite effect on her. The fact that Katrina can even set foot on holy ground in the first place is a miracle.
  
  To add insult to injury, Katrina is completely useless in any other field of magic despite the fact that other magicians could learn from each other. Without her... Condition, she'd be completely uninteresting magically.
• Misfit: Katrina doesn't do very well around other people. She can't negotiate a tense situation without making it worse. She has bad people skills, which often translate to people turning their nose up at her because of Katrina's somewhat antisocial demeanor. Other people just can't seem to get along with her as easily as someone else she travels with, whether or not she tries.
• Scrawny: Between the physical sacrifices, being 5'5" and spending many nights hungry, Katrina isn't exactly build for heavy lifting. Sure, she could climb a rope much easier than someone bigger and heavier than her, but Katrina throws a punch like wet sand, and therefore has to resort to magic or crafty tactics to win a fight.

Connections
Anyone that Katrina knew is either in a different kingdom by now, dead, or perhaps both. She's on her own and can go wherever she wants. Is it any wonder a stranger like her came here of all places?

Bio
By all accounts, Katrina was never anyone important.

She was 16 when the gates of Hell flew open. Katrina watched their leathery wings stretch over the horizon on the first few days, and ran in terror when they began to lay waste to her home. Katrina came from a simple farming village all the way in Pendria, far from where the Seven Villages are now. In the early days, she can droves of survivors ran and wandered as far as they could, looking on in horror as countless fires raged. Fields of once-lush grass were now dead and dying, corpses piled high up along the roads, and all Katrina could do was hope the stench didn't make her sick after she just ate what few rations could be spared that day. Eventually, the convoy she walked with dwindled to such small numbers that the armies of Hell missed them. Some flocked to strongholds ran by warlords both human and demonic, others simply perished in peace. Katrina was not so lucky on either account, she was found by a warband and taken back to a demon lord's stronghold, where she worked as a petty servant. The girl was too scrawny to dig trenches or make weapons, and they had enough people to cook food already. And so, Katrina was the warlord's personal servant. She brought him food when he was hungry, kept his house clean and entertained guests from other parts of Hell.

It was demeaning, and Warlord Kroshtyre was not a kind demon. Sure, Katrina had it easy compared to the trenchers and the farmers who slept in shacks, but she only ate when she could sneak out of the fort and into the kitchen. This was usually late at night when most of the stronghold was asleep. Katrina rarely slept as a child. In fact, she was afraid to, lest some angry demon find her and murder her in her sleep. She slowly learned to slip past guards and explore places that Kroshtyre forbade her from setting foot in. He had a special chamber in his glorified palace that she wasn't allowed in. He said he'd draw out her death for a hundred years if he even thought the scraggly little child went near the door. By 18, Kroshtyre started to believe that Katrina's spirit was broken. After all, she never once rebelled and always obeyed his commands. His home was always clean and she always pleased him when he demanded something.

What Kroshtyre didn't know was that his fancy chamber of evil magic had a faulty lock. One spindly knife from a shack across the stronghold was all it took to break in. She had been snooping in there for a few months now, reading things and very carefully ensuring nothing looked disturbed down to the very last speck of dust. Books on food production, progress on expanding the border, and more. There were books on magic, something she heard whispers of here and there, but never really understood. One such book had a lot of shapes and shaky lines in a language she couldn't read. But night after night, Katrina got better at sneaking around, enough that sometimes she could spy on Kroshtyre performing magic from outside his window. The stupid bastard had gotten complacent with security- Why waste guards on securing a place no one would break into?

It wasn't particularly easy to learn his secrets with this espionage, but Katrina began to fathom how his magic worked from the shadows. There was a spell he cast that set fire to his hand when he spoke a word. Katrina couldn't hear it, but she recognized the page. On a night where Kroshtyre was sound asleep, she snuck in and attempted to cast the spell herself. It didn’t work, but the noise from saying the strange words out loud alerted Kroshtyre, who just happened to be walking by and heard someone on the other side of the door. He flung it open, and caught Katrina red-handed. In a fit of inhuman rage, he reached to strangle her.

Katrina was grabbed, but she pulled out the knife she used to break in and plunged it into Kroshtyre’s chest. Out of everything someone should’ve done in that position, the warlord laughed. He dropped her to the ground, and as she gasped for breath, Katrina watched him pull the bloody thing out as if it was just a toothpick. Kroshtyre bent down and looked her in the eyes. He wanted Katrina to bleed out slowly, and so he gutted her with her own weapon, just before pulling the knife out and throwing it out a window.

The wound… Burned.

She had been stabbed once or twice before ending up in this stronghold, but the pain wasn’t like this. It was like someone had poured something acidic in the wound, and she screamed. Katrina’s stomach felt like it was being ripped out of her skin little by little, while Kroshtyre simply watched. The pain made her head swim. Kroshtyre walked away, expecting Katrina to scream herself into sleep by the time he returned with a mug of beer. But her instincts told her to run.

Once he was out of sight, Katrina forced herself up as much as she could. Everything felt like she was underwater, but for some reason, Katrina reached for the book left on the floor first, and dragged herself out the window along with it after. She fell a few dozen feet and landed in mud. Her legs felt weak, but Katrina managed to run. The last thing she heard was the sound of Kroshtyre screaming from the window for someone to stop her, but no one could catch the girl.

Days passed and Katrina did not stop walking. Weeks passed, and she just kept moving. Both out of fear and out of a desire to be anywhere other than Pendria. Whenever she’d stop to rest, Katrina would read the book she stole. As she studied it more, everything became a bit clearer. She managed to parse a few vague meanings of the demonic language, and managed to cast a fire spell. It burned her skin, but it felt right for some reason… Whenever Katrina looked at her knife wound, the skin seemed to blacken like it was infected, but it felt numb to her. Her blood had taken on a darker color, and she suspected she had become part demonic when Kroshtyre’s blood contaminated her. Katrina came to the conclusion that this was why she could cast the spells now, and so she opted to exploit this as much as she could.

In the last 20 years, Katrina has travelled all over the remnants of the Midlands. During this time, she never found a place she could call home, knowing the Holy Order would look for her if they caught wind of her magical talent, and that they would damn near crucify her if they learned the nature of it. In the earlier days after the end of the world, people would drive her away on account of her inhuman eyes. Katrina has sought out secrets of demonology that most would shudder at, risking her life and her humanity to learn about the affliction she was left with. Sometimes, this desire took her to the very heart of territories controlled by demons, other times saw her spending entire days in crumbling libraries to improve her knowledge on demons.

Assembly Response

Katrina’s more recent travels took her through the northern mountains of Monothrana. For no particular reason other than the hope for a place where she could slow down for a while and find some temporary peace. The mountains seemed to be mostly untouched by Hell, and Katrina came here not knowing how long it would be before she left. At least that was the case until she discovered the Seven Villages, a stretch of civilization that lived in hiding. As someone used to running and hiding from demons, Katrina could respect that somewhat. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise and Katrina elected to stay for a while. Though, being around strange people meant that people would talk. She stuck to the story that she was just passing through, and planned to stay for a while to rest. The rest was nothing important.

That changed when she heard about an assembly called by the Holy Order. Something important was happening, and a man named Osric called for volunteers to bring a magic wine glass to a church off in bumfuck nowhere. The location sounded vaguely familiar to Katrina- She passed it a few weeks ago. Apparently this glorified mug had some special, divine properties that could secure humanity’s seat at the cosmological table by sticking it to the forces of Hell. That detail in particular was what intrigued Katrina, and so she offered her aid in the form of knowing the lands far and wide. If there was a place between here and the Priory, she probably went there and found a shortcut.

Of course, there was also the matter of her very dangerous and very heretical calling in life. Katrina would cross that bridge when she approached it.

Hope for a Dying World

Anyone who wants to have met Katrina but hasn’t posted a sheet yet is more than welcome to hit me up.

Hope for a Dying World

Ever seen a devil go to church? Me neither.

Katrina Lark

Katrina

Name
Katrina Lark

Age
37

Strength

• Blood Magic: Due to circumstances long behind her, Katrina is adept in the most unholy forms of magic. The kind that some of the most insidious demons are known for using to bring terror down on humanity; Blood magic is centered on the idea of using a mortal being's life force to shape the world through a lens of violence. Every time Katrina casts a spell with it, there is a toll to pay. The toll ranges from mundane pain such as burnt flesh, to spilling blood and using it to fuel a spell. All blood magic is inherently selfish, and takes from others without return.
  
  Blood is used to draw sigils with malicious intent behind them, such as draining someone of their life force when they come near a sigil, or sparking demonic fire that can destroy anything it touches. The sacrifice offered determines the potency of the effect. Katrina has gotten creative with this over the years, and has found a few tricks to use that do not risk her life. One such method involved drawing blood sigils over her skin, and allowing them to sear themselves into her skin like permanent, branded scars. Every time Katrina uses one of these, it's like sticking hot iron against her arms, and the pain makes her sigils particularly potent. Katrina can theoretically create any sigil she wishes, for any conceivable effect, but the sacrifice necessary will grow to match the intention. More blood must be spilled, more pain must be suffered, an animal must be killed, and so on- She could not bring a plague down on the all the Seven Villages without bleeding herself dry, along with a dozen other people.
  
  The sigils on Katrina's arms can be cast at a moment's notice, but due to them being burned into her skin, they have very limited range compared to any other sigil she were to draw.
  
  
  Katrina's Scar Sigils

  
  Devilflame: Katrina sparks a flame that burns with a sinister red hue. The fire will incinerate anything it touches- Trees, houses, flesh, even steel- Until only ashes remain. The only protection is that of a holy origin, such as holy water or a blessing from a priest. For this reason, the Devilflame can't set fire to a church or burn a book of holy text, or a graveyard that was consecrated by a monk.
  
  Poison Touch: By holding a piece of a living creature, such as a vial of a person's blood, Katrina can curse them to feel incredibly sick. They will feel weak with fatigue, struggle to eat or sleep at night. A visit to the Holy Order would curse them right away, though they will never truly die. The victim only suffers longer and longer until someone with the right skills can intervene.
  
  Devour: When the sigil is activated, a chosen target is slowly drained of their life force, steadily healing Katrina when she touches them. This is the only way to magically heal any of her wounds, but as with all blood magic, a victim will suffer the same injuries Katrina heals. To another person, it's as if Katrina were simply transferring her wounds to a victim.
  
  Hysteria: The Hysteria sigil creates a nightmarish vision based on the internal fears of a person she touches. Katrina has no control over what the vision actually is, because the vision depends on what the victim fears more than anything in the world. Their vision is the worst possible outcome of this fear, known or not, taken to a harrowing extreme that only they can perceive.
  
  
• Survival: From hunting to get through another hungry evening, to using nature as a compass, Katrina is used to living in places where most wouldn't. Even as the world clings to the last vestiges of civilization, there are wastelands of ash and hellspawn that go untouched for long spans. Katrina has travelled through these places, and used the terrain to hide from roaming demons enough that she doesn't need a roof over her head to avoid getting killed. She can always find out which direction is which, and where water might be running. Normally, the ground is too corrupted that she finds anything to eat, but her travels help her find shelter from rain and seclusion in unsafe areas.
• Demonology: It's unsurprising that someone who uses the magic of demons would know a thing or two about them. Though, since Katrina keeps her magical abilities a secret, one has to wonder where she learned so much about demons. Katrina can easily translate things written in demonic tongues to High Speech, identify different types of demons and the perfect spot to stab them in with a knife, and tell anyone others with experienced certainty that the best way to survive an encounter with a demon is to simply not encounter them. There are some deep, esoteric details about the world of demons that a person simply cannot learn from a book. While priests and clerics learn about so much more, Katrina simply dives deeper into a single subject.
• Knife Enjoyer: Katrina is an absolute menace with a dagger. She could throw one and shave the whiskers from a cat with her eyes closed. Katrina feels the most comfortable when she has some sort of sharp object on her person, and often makes very good use of one she always has with her no matter where she goes.

Weaknesses

• Unholy Soul: Katrina's magic is a very destructive thing, meaning she would be murder in a battle situation. On paper, this sounds like a good thing, but Katrina's ability to wield blood magic is merely a product of her making the best of a bad situation. For all intents and purposes, Katrina is semi-demonic in her own right. Those of a holy background with firm faith are next to immune to any magic she throws at them. Katrina doesn't believe in the Starry Field, but even if she were the most devout woman in the known world, she simply could not set foot there because of the stain on her soul. Sacred objects like the Cup of Woe would burn her skin if she touched them, holy water is the same as poison to Katrina, and divine magic that would benefit another has the exact opposite effect on her. The fact that Katrina can even set foot on holy ground in the first place is a miracle.
  
  To add insult to injury, Katrina is completely useless in any other field of magic despite the fact that other magicians could learn from each other. Without her... Condition, she'd be completely uninteresting magically.
• Misfit: Katrina doesn't do very well around other people. She can't negotiate a tense situation without making it worse. She has bad people skills, which often translate to people turning their nose up at her because of Katrina's somewhat antisocial demeanor. Other people just can't seem to get along with her as easily as someone else she travels with, whether or not she tries.
• Scrawny: Between the physical sacrifices, being 5'5" and spending many nights hungry, Katrina isn't exactly build for heavy lifting. Sure, she could climb a rope much easier than someone bigger and heavier than her, but Katrina throws a punch like wet sand, and therefore has to resort to magic or crafty tactics to win a fight.

Connections
Anyone that Katrina knew is either in a different kingdom by now, dead, or perhaps both. She's on her own and can go wherever she wants. Is it any wonder a stranger like her came here of all places?

Bio
By all accounts, Katrina was never anyone important.

She was 16 when the gates of Hell flew open. Katrina watched their leathery wings stretch over the horizon on the first few days, and ran in terror when they began to lay waste to her home. Katrina came from a simple farming village all the way in Pendria, far from where the Seven Villages are now. In the early days, she can droves of survivors ran and wandered as far as they could, looking on in horror as countless fires raged. Fields of once-lush grass were now dead and dying, corpses piled high up along the roads, and all Katrina could do was hope the stench didn't make her sick after she just ate what few rations could be spared that day. Eventually, the convoy she walked with dwindled to such small numbers that the armies of Hell missed them. Some flocked to strongholds ran by warlords both human and demonic, others simply perished in peace. Katrina was not so lucky on either account, she was found by a warband and taken back to a demon lord's stronghold, where she worked as a petty servant. The girl was too scrawny to dig trenches or make weapons, and they had enough people to cook food already. And so, Katrina was the warlord's personal servant. She brought him food when he was hungry, kept his house clean and entertained guests from other parts of Hell.

It was demeaning, and Warlord Kroshtyre was not a kind demon. Sure, Katrina had it easy compared to the trenchers and the farmers who slept in shacks, but she only ate when she could sneak out of the fort and into the kitchen. This was usually late at night when most of the stronghold was asleep. Katrina rarely slept as a child. In fact, she was afraid to, lest some angry demon find her and murder her in her sleep. She slowly learned to slip past guards and explore places that Kroshtyre forbade her from setting foot in. He had a special chamber in his glorified palace that she wasn't allowed in. He said he'd draw out her death for a hundred years if he even thought the scraggly little child went near the door. By 18, Kroshtyre started to believe that Katrina's spirit was broken. After all, she never once rebelled and always obeyed his commands. His home was always clean and she always pleased him when he demanded something.

What Kroshtyre didn't know was that his fancy chamber of evil magic had a faulty lock. One spindly knife from a shack across the stronghold was all it took to break in. She had been snooping in there for a few months now, reading things and very carefully ensuring nothing looked disturbed down to the very last speck of dust. Books on food production, progress on expanding the border, and more. There were books on magic, something she heard whispers of here and there, but never really understood. One such book had a lot of shapes and shaky lines in a language she couldn't read. But night after night, Katrina got better at sneaking around, enough that sometimes she could spy on Kroshtyre performing magic from outside his window. The stupid bastard had gotten complacent with security- Why waste guards on securing a place no one would break into?

It wasn't particularly easy to learn his secrets with this espionage, but Katrina began to fathom how his magic worked from the shadows. There was a spell he cast that set fire to his hand when he spoke a word. Katrina couldn't hear it, but she recognized the page. On a night where Kroshtyre was sound asleep, she snuck in and attempted to cast the spell herself. It didn’t work, but the noise from saying the strange words out loud alerted Kroshtyre, who just happened to be walking by and heard someone on the other side of the door. He flung it open, and caught Katrina red-handed. In a fit of inhuman rage, he reached to strangle her.

Katrina was grabbed, but she pulled out the knife she used to break in and plunged it into Kroshtyre’s chest. Out of everything someone should’ve done in that position, the warlord laughed. He dropped her to the ground, and as she gasped for breath, Katrina watched him pull the bloody thing out as if it was just a toothpick. Kroshtyre bent down and looked her in the eyes. He wanted Katrina to bleed out slowly, and so he gutted her with her own weapon, just before pulling the knife out and throwing it out a window.

The wound… Burned.

She had been stabbed once or twice before ending up in this stronghold, but the pain wasn’t like this. It was like someone had poured something acidic in the wound, and she screamed. Katrina’s stomach felt like it was being ripped out of her skin little by little, while Kroshtyre simply watched. The pain made her head swim. Kroshtyre walked away, expecting Katrina to scream herself into sleep by the time he returned with a mug of beer. But her instincts told her to run.

Once he was out of sight, Katrina forced herself up as much as she could. Everything felt like she was underwater, but for some reason, Katrina reached for the book left on the floor first, and dragged herself out the window along with it after. She fell a few dozen feet and landed in mud. Her legs felt weak, but Katrina managed to run. The last thing she heard was the sound of Kroshtyre screaming from the window for someone to stop her, but no one could catch the girl.

Days passed and Katrina did not stop walking. Weeks passed, and she just kept moving. Both out of fear and out of a desire to be anywhere other than Pendria. Whenever she’d stop to rest, Katrina would read the book she stole. As she studied it more, everything became a bit clearer. She managed to parse a few vague meanings of the demonic language, and managed to cast a fire spell. It burned her skin, but it felt right for some reason… Whenever Katrina looked at her knife wound, the skin seemed to blacken like it was infected, but it felt numb to her. Her blood had taken on a darker color, and she suspected she had become part demonic when Kroshtyre’s blood contaminated her. Katrina came to the conclusion that this was why she could cast the spells now, and so she opted to exploit this as much as she could.

In the last 20 years, Katrina has travelled all over the remnants of the Midlands. During this time, she never found a place she could call home, knowing the Holy Order would look for her if they caught wind of her magical talent, and that they would damn near crucify her if they learned the nature of it. In the earlier days after the end of the world, people would drive her away on account of her inhuman eyes. Katrina has sought out secrets of demonology that most would shudder at, risking her life and her humanity to learn about the affliction she was left with. Sometimes, this desire took her to the very heart of territories controlled by demons, other times saw her spending entire days in crumbling libraries to improve her knowledge on demons.

Assembly Response

Katrina’s more recent travels took her through the northern mountains of Monothrana. For no particular reason other than the hope for a place where she could slow down for a while and find some temporary peace. The mountains seemed to be mostly untouched by Hell, and Katrina came here not knowing how long it would be before she left. At least that was the case until she discovered the Seven Villages, a stretch of civilization that lived in hiding. As someone used to running and hiding from demons, Katrina could respect that somewhat. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise and Katrina elected to stay for a while. Though, being around strange people meant that people would talk. She stuck to the story that she was just passing through, and planned to stay for a while to rest. The rest was nothing important.

That changed when she heard about an assembly called by the Holy Order. Something important was happening, and a man named Osric called for volunteers to bring a magic wine glass to a church off in bumfuck nowhere. The location sounded vaguely familiar to Katrina- She passed it a few weeks ago. Apparently this glorified mug had some special, divine properties that could secure humanity’s seat at the cosmological table by sticking it to the forces of Hell. That detail in particular was what intrigued Katrina, and so she offered her aid in the form of knowing the lands far and wide. If there was a place between here and the Priory, she probably went there and found a shortcut.

Of course, there was also the matter of her very dangerous and very heretical calling in life. Katrina would cross that bridge when she approached it.

The Gifted (Reborn)

Touch-based healer named Panacea

Hope for a Dying World

Hi

I just found this and it looks interesting. Here’s an idea for a character. An occult magician. The resident heretic who pissed off a demon and got absurdly lucky by walking away with some magical power. The magic is inherently “bad” and would scare the shit out of a monk or a priest, but they aren’t an evil person. They travel from place to place pretending to just be some lowly drifter, but they have a fascination with magic and wish to learn more and just survive like anyone else.

They’re actually a pretty decent person. Probably a little rough around the edges and wouldn’t fit in at a monastery, but you’re ultimately better off with them and not without them. They’ve likely made enemies just by being “touched” by the forces of Hell.

The Gifted (Reborn)

Since when did you write for rps you didn't create